In describing their new $1.7B budget as essentially
"bulletproof," ACOG officials expressed "absolute confidence"
they now have "secured or identified" enough money to stage the
Games as promised, according to the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. ACOG
President Billy Payne: "We can say today that we can
successfully stage the Games which meet the quality we have
promised to the world and which will meet our own very high
expectations." The $1.7B budget represents an increase of $125M
over the previous forecast produced 20 months ago. ACOG
officials say 86% of the income is committed and the remainder is
"a sure bet" (Melissa Turner, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/12).
NUMBERS GAME: The WALL STREET JOURNAL notes, while ACOG has
raised $1.38B, the remaining $227M that must be raised must come
in at a pace of $1.2M per day, and some IOC members are worried
about the ACOG's "heavy reliance" on private sources, as opposed
to "deep-pocketed" state and federal governments. The IOC's Dick
Pound went as far as to say "chances are slim" that future Games
will be awarded without a "public safety net" (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 10/12).
But, ACOG COO A.D. Frazier said a significant amount of the
remaining 14% "is already in the pipeline," according to the N.Y.
TIMES. Frazier said as much as $80M in ticket orders has been
received, but not processed, and a number of other revenue-
related contracts are yet to be signed. He also notes there will
be significant revenue generated during the course of the Games
through sales of Olympic merchandise and concessions (Jerry
Schwartz, N.Y. TIMES, 10/12).